by Matt Drabble
“And about that one witness?”
“Yes, he’s not exactly the most reliable source in town I’ll grant you,” Gaines conceded again.
“But what would he have to gain from lying? Surely Dixon, and if you’re right about who he works for, his boss would both want the real killer caught?” Norton asked.
“Honestly, I just don’t know. The only thing that I do know is that I wouldn’t trust Dixon or Todd as far as I could throw either of them. And my gut is telling me that this is far from over.”
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Tommy woke slowly from his induced nap. The doctors had sedated him again around lunchtime in order to allow his injury to rest and heal. The x-rays and scans had shown no significant damage and they were only still holding him for observation due to the head injury.
He touched his head with his free hand and winced at the egg sized lump under the bandages. Dixon had clocked him good and swung with a substantial amount of resentment it would seem. A part of him still hoped that Dixon’s statement had been one of confusion or mistake over what he had witnessed. But he couldn’t shake that smile that he’d seen on the man’s face. Whoever Russell Dixon was now, it bore little resemblance to the boyhood friend that he’d grown up with. His heart sank a little at the thought of their childhood gang and everything that they had been, and everything that they had lost. Nobody had been able to contact McEwen and he feared the worst for the artist. PJ had lost his life to the unmistakable vision of Arnold Trotter. The magician had been no illusion despite what Gaines would no doubt soon be telling him. Whilst it was true that he’d had his own psychological problems in the past, they had never extended to hallucinations. Trotter was real, he was back and PJ testified to that fact. The only problem now was that no-one seemed to want to believe him. It would so much easier for all of them to dismiss his version of events and merely lock him away in a neat bow of blame. He would be their bogeyman, he would be their Hannibal Lecter, and he was caught. Gaines was carrying his own guilt for visiting Trotter and sharing his theories about the man’s sham trial and incarceration. If it was all down to Tommy then Gaines had no new guilt to place on his own retiring shoulders. The rest of the town could go on with their lives and sleep easy. Those guilty parties involved in Trotter’s case could breathe a heavy sigh of relief and go about their days unencumbered. If only it was true, then Tommy would have gladly seen himself locked away in order to protect Ally. The problem was that it wasn’t true. Trotter was still out there and none of them were safe. Whatever game Dixon was playing, he had put them all in danger.
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Deputy Henry Trinder sat steaming outside the hospital room. Freddie Burns had been supposed to relive him over two hours ago but he had gone conveniently missing. It was a dull duty and it wasn’t one that he should have to suffer alone. He knew that Adrian Todd had been freaking out and demanding that pretty much everyone on his payroll grabbed a gun and stood guard. He’d been half expecting to get a rush of phone calls as the idiots that Todd had working for him started shooting their toes off and each other. He assumed that Freddie had gone out to the farm to keep an eye on the rabble. But with the killer now caught and laying in bed not 10 feet from him, surely the staff had been sent home. It would not be beyond Freddie to be taking advantage of the situation and be holed up with his tasty fiancé somewhere.
He fidgeted uncomfortably on the plastic chair. It didn’t seem right that some psycho killer got a plush bed to lie in all day whilst he had nothing but hard plastic to hold him. Tommy Marsh didn’t look like much. The man that had terrified Todd and Gaines both didn’t look like he could harm a fly. Nevertheless he was grateful for the comforting weight of the service revolver on his hip. The gun had been assigned to him, albeit reluctantly by Gaines along with the guard duty.
The elevator doors binged and he turned towards them. The corridor was normally pretty quiet as most of the patients had been moved away from Marsh’s room as a precaution. It seemed like an unnecessary gesture and Henry was more than a little disappointed to see the nurse traffic slow and dwindle. Hitting on the young staff seemed like the only perk to the job.
His hand went instinctively to his hip as the elevator doors slid open. A woman stepped out and she looked vaguely familiar. He struggled for a moment to place the face before he got it. She was a waitress over at one of the bars in town. Deidre, Donna, something like that. She was attractive enough with a pleasant face and a cute swing of the hips. She was carrying a hamper basket with a red and white check cloth over it.
“Deputy” she greeted him as she drew close.
“Can I help you miss?”
“My names Delores, I was wondering if I might have a few words with Mr. Marsh?”
Delores, that was it. She worked over at The Catfish Bar. He was pleased that he had been close. He liked to think that he wasn’t quite the meathead that people in town took him for.
“I’m sorry Delores, but no-one gets to see him, Chief Gaines’ orders.”
“I was just bringing him some food. He is allowed to be fed is he not?”
“I’m sure that the hospital provides him with enough sustenance to keep him going.”
“Have you tasted the food here? Would you eat it?”
Henry couldn’t fault that logic. The hospital cafeteria wasn’t his favourite port of call and that hamper did smell like The Catfish’s spicy chicken wings. His mouth salivated at the thought. If he was going to be stuck here around the clock then why shouldn’t he enjoy the spoils of war?
“I understand if I have to leave the basket out here with you,” she added coyly.
He couldn’t help but smile at her nerve.
“You can go in, without the basket and without closing the door,” he said figuring what was the worst that could happen.
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Tommy lifted his weary head up off of the pillow as a nurse walked into the room. As his vision cleared he could see that it wasn’t a nurse. Her kind and worried face looked familiar and he too took a moment to place her.
“Delores?” He managed through a scratchy throat.
She smiled kindly and suddenly he was nervous. The scene seemed all too recognizable from the pages of fiction. The dead man’s girlfriend advancing menacingly towards the incapacitated innocent, but blamed man seeking revenge.
“Wait a minute Delores, I don’t know what you think you know, but you’re wrong” he stuttered.
“Cool your jets Tommy,” she whispered. “If I had harmful intent in mind you’d know it.”
Tommy hefted himself up on his elbows to a sitting position. Lying in bed with only a thin cotton barrier to protect his modesty left him feeling more than a little vulnerable.
“So what can I do for you today? I’m afraid I can’t offer you much in the way of refreshments,” he said a little bitterly.
“I wanted to know about PJ. How did he die Tommy? Was it bad? Did he suffer?”
He could only watch as her stern face crumbled under salty tears. Her grief was larger and fresher than his. He had only known PJ as a boy whilst she had known and apparently loved the man that he had become. He felt for her and wished that he could come up with a way of sparing her the gory details. But this was a small town and tongues tended to have a mind of their own in Denver Mills.
“It was bad Delores,” he said sadly. “I’m sorry I wish that I could tell you that his last moments were heroic and full of words and love for you, but it wasn’t. He died hard and bloody, scared and alone.”
“I thought that you were there?”
“Not when he died, only after, I’m sorry.”
She stood over the bed and looked down on him kindly. “Thank you for being honest Tommy. I don’t care what the rumors are; I know that you are not capable of what they are suggesting.”
“I wish someone would tell them,” he said hooking a thumb towards the grease smeared face of the deputy peering around the corner.
“Peter thought the world
of you Tommy. Even when you hadn’t seen each other for two decades he was positively buzzing when you came back to town.”
Tommy fought against the pinpricks behind his eyes. “I feel bad Delores. I should have kept in contact with him more than the others. He was always the most vulnerable and I should have remembered that.”
“It wasn’t your job Tommy. You’re not responsible for any of them. They were all adults.”
He knew that her words were true, just as much as he knew that she was wrong.
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Dixon drove out to the farm offices with white hot anger burning in his veins. His knuckles were bloodless as he gripped the steering wheel imagining Tommy’s throat beneath his iron clutch.
He slammed his hand down on the wheel, one, twice, hard and enraged. After everything that he done for the ungrateful bitch she had still turned her back on him. Regardless of the fact that Tommy was about to be arrested as soon as he left the hospital for multiple murders, she still stood by his side. He could only imagine what it must be like to be seen in such a light. When they’d been married if he got so much as a parking ticket her face would fall with disappointment and chastisement.
He had seen Arnold Trotter in the flesh. The maniac had returned and killed again. The magician had stood over Tommy and tormented him with PJ’s head in some sick trick. It had seemed like the perfect opportunity to rid himself of both of his problems. To take Tommy out of the picture however temporarily, and to remove his boss Adrian Todd permanently. With Tommy arrested, regardless of how long they were able to hold him without real evidence, it should be enough time. He’d be able to call Todd and give him the good news that the killer was in custody. Todd would send away his protection and Dixon was sure that he could talk the man into taking a few days off. With Todd all alone at the farmhouse, it would give Trotter a free and clear shot. He had no doubt that there would not be enough to charge Tommy with the murders, especially if Todd was killed when Tommy was in custody. But he had been confident that there would be enough doubt placed in Ally’s mind to never look at her dear Tommy the same ever again. But Todd was still alive and Ally had rejected his advances, making it clear that her feelings for Tommy were more determined than ever. In effect he had pushed them closer together as she had clung to her idea of Tommy harder than ever. He could see it in her eyes that all she wanted to do was to run to his bedside in his hour of need.
He yanked the wheel hard and the truck lurched violently to the left as he pulled into the farm’s lane in a shower of gravel and dust. The converted barn that served as the main offices was tucked away in the middle of the fields on Todd’s land. With most of the town under Todd’s thumb, his influence kept away nosy spectators including Gaines himself.
There were two cars parked outside. One was low key and a relatively inexpensive offering that was the preferred choice for Todd employees. The other however was a gleaming statement of wealth that defied the earnings of a farmhand. Despite his ability to run his business without the watchful eye of the authorities, it had been Adrian Todd’s insistence that nobody on his payroll was to flaunt their excessive income. It was also Dixon’s job to enforce the rules, and enforce them he did.
He skidded to a halt and charged up the steps to the barn. His blood was boiling with Ally’s rejection. Who the hell did she think she was? After everything that he had given her she still spurned him with contempt in her eyes.
He kicked the door open savagely and scanned the room for his prey. Merv Duncan and Matt Murphy both turned to face him in surprise at his explosive entrance. He stormed over to Duncan and grabbed him harshly by the shirt. His balled up fist snatched a painful hand of skin under the man’s shirt as he lifted the younger and smaller man off his feet.
“Jesus Dixon, what the hell’s wrong with you?” Duncan managed through shock and fright.
Wordlessly Dixon dragged him across the office floor and out of the door. He staggered down the steps to the dirt track ground and marched him across to the gleaming new car. Dixon was around six inches taller than Duncan and drowned the man in his strength and power.
“What have you been told?” He growled, his voice low and flint hard.
“What? I haven’t done anything,” Duncan whined, his voice perilously close to breaking.
Dixon slammed the man’s head down hard on the car bonnet instantly denting the expensive shell. “WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN TOLD?” He roared.
“I…I…I don’t know, I can’t remember,” Duncan said, blubbing through a bloody mouth.
“Nothing expensive, nothing noticeable,” Dixon snarled.
“It isn’t I swear,” Duncan cried.
“Well now why don’t we take a closer look?” Dixon smiled cruelly.
He ripped open the driver’s door and peered inside whilst never releasing his grip on Duncan. The smaller man hung loosely and helplessly in his grasp.
The car’s interior was chocked full of gadgets and lights. The seat covers were plush leather and the dashboard glowed with luxury.
“How exactly am I going to get the message through to you Mr. Duncan? Apparently words just don’t seem to make any impression.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Duncan wept, his whole body trembling at the sudden violence.
Dixon felt his own body hum with adrenaline. Power coursed through his veins, embittered with his insecurities. Ally had spurned him because he wasn’t good enough. These college punks looked down their noses at him and laughed behind his back. His hands shook at the sheer injustice of it all.
He released Duncan and the slender man sank to the ground on his knees. Dixon closed his eyes and tried to set his breathing straight and slow his racing pulse. He opened his eyes and looked down at the cowering man before him. Duncan wiped his mouth and saw his hand come away bloody. He spat on the floor and the red phlegm hit Dixon’s shoe and the red mist fell. In one swift deadly movement he reached down and grabbed Duncan’s hair. He yanked the man forward and put his head just inside the car. He then took hold of the car door and slammed it viciously into the back of Duncan’s head. He slammed the door over and over again until his arm began to ache. And on every slam of metal on bone he saw Tommy’s face.
At some point he felt the other college graduate Matt Murphy grab his shoulder and pull him away. When he looked down at the twisted metal of the car door, the bottom trim was splattered with blood. Duncan’s legs continued to twitch occasionally in a last ditch death dance. He turned to face Murphy whose own face was a mask of horror and white with nausea. Dixon watched as Murphy turned to run for his own more inconspicuous car and figured what the hell. Looking down at the bloody mess at his feet he smoothly drew the pistol from the back of his waistband and shot Murphy in the back as he ran. The crows rose and flew at the gunshot’s explosion and Dixon felt calmness overtake him again. Secretly he wished that Trotter would make a move on him next. Looking at the death laying at his feet, he found it hard to feel fear of anyone.
20.
CLEAR AS MUD
The first funerals were held on a sunny cloudless day. Dale Midkiff was buried first to an almost empty audience save for the pastor and the gravedigger. He had not been a popular man in town, and even those who would have considered him a friend were loath to leave their hangovers to rise at that time of the morning. Some did take the time to toast his memory with various hard liquors the night before at The Catfish Bar but that was about as far as his legacy went. His estranged family didn’t make the trip and there were no tears shed.
Graham Moss however, the once prosecutor turned defender, was thought of in entirely different terms to the farmer. He had been a gregarious man, infectious of spirit and well liked around the small town. He had always been quick with a smile and a contagious laugh. There were several mature widows and housewives who attended his burial with weeping eyes and heavy hearts.
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Doc Norton and Sherman Gaines attended both of the services. They held senior and im
portant positions in Denver Mills and it was part of the job to represent the town. Two sets of twitching eyes scanned the crowds for anything unusual. Gaines hoped and prayed that Tommy Marsh was indeed the black sheep come home. That he was the monster who had slain the innocent and not quite so innocent. But Gaines’ mind was forever one of a cop, one full of suspicion and always distrustful.
He watched the faces and saw nothing out of the ordinary. At Moss’ service there had been several raised eyebrows shared with Doc Norton at the weeping women. Apparently sound legal advice was not the only thing being offered on the lawyer’s couch.
They were due to transfer Tommy Marsh to the jail house that afternoon. Henry Trinder had been bitching and moaning with some justification at his extended guard duties. Freddie Burns had somehow managed to disappear. Without Tommy Marsh in custody he would have feared the worst. But a combination of Marsh’s arrest and a few phone calls that had ascertained that Burn’s young fiancée was also gone allayed his concerns. Ally Chambers had told him that Courtney hadn’t turned in for her shift at the diner that morning. He knew that it wasn’t beyond Burns to be either shacked up with the girl somewhere, or to have even eloped completely.
His job was growing to be more of a pain in the ass than he needed, but at least he had Katy to fall back on. The young deputy was all he could have hoped for and was the one saving grace in his small department. He had been looking into sending her away on some more courses. The woman devoured knowledge with an intensity that he had once seen in his own eyes. She was intelligent and capable and he knew that when he retired Denver Mills would be left in good hands.
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Dixon drove his truck deep out into the plantation fields. The lush green plants were strong against the gentle breeze and his mind was calmer. The two bodies of the employees were currently wrapped in curtains taken down from the office. He knew of course that the two men would be missed at some point, either by their loved ones or by Todd himself. He also knew that all he had to do was to bide his time. Trotter would surely take Todd’s head soon, and when he did there would be no-one standing between Dixon and the ownership of the company. No-one would challenge him for leadership and once he was boss no-one would ask any questions about his disciplinary procedures. All he had to do was wait.